Thomas W. Hoog, chairman of Hill & Knowlton USA and a member of the PR giant's Worldwide Executive Committee, is driving his car outside of Denver, talking about the
state of the public-relations profession. "We can't allow ourselves to be a commodity," says Hoog, who served as president-CEO of H&K USA from 1996-2001 and is past chair of
the Public Relation Society of America's (PRSA) Counselors Academy. Hoog, who will be the keynote speaker at the PR News Platinum PR Awards luncheon Oct. 17 at New York City's
Grand Hyatt Hotel, says the best way to avoid that is for PR pros to better demonstrate their value to senior managers. He's also been a vocal advocate for the need throughout
corporate America for the "chief communications officer (CCO)," what with the erosion in corporate trust and the rise of reputation management.
Although the CCO title has
been slow in coming, Hoog insists decision-makers these days are more amenable to the idea. Still, PR execs have to step up to the plate if they're to be seen as strategic
counselors in the eyes of top managers. Still on the phone, Hoog offers some advice on how they can speed the process as well as some thoughts on several other challenges facing
the profession.
Q: Senior PR pros are now facing a welter of challenges, ranging from obtaining PR measurement to better managing corporate reputation to learning new technologies like
blogs and podcasting. How can PR managers and directors prioritize and still make sure they're not shirking any of their responsibilities to senior management?
A: To be effective in this day and age, you've got to increase communications both internally and externally, and not do anything that might decrease communications or
keep them at the same level. When you live in an era of transparency, it's impossible to over-communicate.
Each of the challenges you mention has to get done. It's the job of communicators to impress upon management the importance of communications in an era of transparency and to
fight for more budget, if that's what it takes, or more people, if that's what it takes.
Q: Is an over-reliance on spin the main reason why the public thinks PR pros are so ethically challenged? How do PR pros find the way out from the culture of spin?
A: When I started in this business, we used to refer to communications as being 'research-driven' or 'fact-driven.' Somewhere along the line, I'm afraid some of us got
off the track and decided it was just as easy to spin as it was to make sure you had all the research and/or facts behind you. What I'm going to be suggesting in my speech [at the
PR Platinum Awards Oct. 17] is that we need to reject that.
Spin is seen for what it is and it decreases your credibility. The instant the public perceives that you're spinning on any given subject, it automatically assumes you're
spinning on all subjects, and that's not what we need to be as a profession. The classic example is President Bush and [Louisiana] Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco accepting
responsibility for the [lack of government response in the wake of Hurricane Katrina]. It was the right thing to do. It was a good, substantive PR move, but it had the added
benefit of getting away from the spin and, instead, saying, 'hey, we have a responsibility here, we have a problem, and we need to fix it.'"
Q: One of the sore spots in agency/client relations is what the client often thinks is over-billing - basically, the agency billing for anything that moves. How chronic is
this problem, and what are the ramifications for the PR field if it doesn't improve?
A: This should never be an issue. Before you engage in a particular project, there should be clear expectations of what is to be done, what it costs and what the results
should be. At the end of the day, if one has taken those steps, there shouldn't be any questions about billing.
Where we get ourselves in trouble sometimes is a failure to communicate as well as we should with the client and vice versa [about the expectations on both sides of the table].
That's why it's so important to communicate ahead of time.
Q: We keep hearing about how the media-relations component of PR, particularly for corporate execs, has been lessened somewhat as issues like employee relations and
corporate social responsibility (CSR) gain more traction. How do PR pros strike a balance between what has traditionally been their primary function compared with all of these
other disciplines?
A: I go back to a point that I've been making for years: the importance of having a CCO in a company. The CCO should have the ear of the CEO, and all communications
should funnel through that person. But we have to earn our stripes. Once we are able to demonstrate strategic value, then I think corporations will be all too happy to embrace a
CCO as part of the management team.
Q: But few companies have done so or seemed inclined to bring on a CCO. Shouldn't the PR profession - and the various trade groups - be taking a tougher, more proactive
stand for the idea of a CCO when you consider that issues of reputation and trust are at the forefront in corporate America?
A: You're starting to see more people, not necessarily with the title of CCO but with a legitimate seat at the table, performing in the capacity as a CCO. The concept
has grown faster than the title but that, too, will come in time.
Q: Regarding media relations, media companies are under intense bottom-line pressure, and reporters have less time to check the facts. At the same time, relationships
between reporters and PR executives have generally gone from amicable to adversarial. Do PR pros perhaps need to rethink the tonality of their relationships with media
reps?
A: The answer is yes and yes. We do have to ensure that when you use the term 'public relations' at least the 'relations' part would imply that we're capable of
developing relations based upon trust, and our delivery of the facts to all of the publics we deal with, including the media. There's a burden of proof on us to earn respect from
the media. By the same token, media reps are under an incredible crunch because they're short-staffed as well. So if you give them information with facts based on research,
they'll be more receptive to building relationships rather than giving them 'spin.'
Q: Given all you're saying, can PR meet the credibility challenge it currently faces as an industry? Are we ever going to earn the respect we seek?
A: The biggest challenge is to be accepted as strategic counsel and not as tactical implementers; the issues take care of themselves. In other words, credibility comes
with your ability to bring strategic counsel to the table; that implies it can help reputation and can help the bottom line. We can't allow ourselves to be thought of just as arms
and legs. PRN
(For more information on the PR Platinum Awards, please go to http://www.prnewsonline.com.)
Contact: Tom Hoog, 303.775.9112, [email protected]